When the executive team played host to the bids to wrest control of Manchester United from the Glazers earlier this year, a shocking statistic emerged. Buried in presentations to investors, Man Utd management announced that the team’s financial revenue would surpass 1 billion pounds (equivalent to 1.2 billion USD) by the end of the year. fiscal 2027. Meanwhile, the actual numbers are not so positive. The team’s revenue reached 491.1 million pounds in fiscal year 2021, increased to 583.2 million pounds in fiscal year 2022 and reached 648.4 million pounds in fiscal year 2023. Remember that for football teams , the year’s financial revenue will be calculated from July 1 and end on June 30 of the following year. And most recently on October 26, 2023, the club listed on the New York Stock Exchange announced expected revenue of 650 – 680 million pounds for the 2024 fiscal year.
According to internal sources surrounding the bidding, people who were forced to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to disclose commercially sensitive information, cast doubt on the £1 billion figure put on the table. judge. In addition, this £1 billion excludes any potential benefits from developing Old Trafford Stadium, which is considered a fairly certain source of revenue.
This means that this growth of more than £300 million comes largely from commercial activity, broadcasting revenue and television rights. Even in that presentation, the current board of directors emphasized the growth of the Champions League broadcast rights package, as well as taking into account changes to the FIFA Club World Cup with the tournament increasing the number of participating teams, Increasing matches means increasing income. Bidders feel apprehensive about this because it is no different from a “drawing cake”, when revenue growth depends too much on achievements on the field. The question is, who can be sure that Man Utd will regularly participate in the Champions League? Recently, after a humiliating 0-3 defeat in the Manchester derby, the Red Devils fell to 8th place on the Premier League rankings, 8 points behind the Top 4 after only 10 rounds.
It is not strange that sellers always seek to increase the price of their assets. But considering that the Glazers are not too interested in selling all of Man Utd, it shows that they really appreciate their “golden egg” after nearly two decades of ownership. The Glazers family lost 1.3 billion USD to own Man Utd in 2005, and now they want to earn 7-8 billion USD if any partner accepts to buy the entire team. Regarding that request, investor from Qatar, Sheikh Jassim, refused to respond.